ATV Florida Forum

Last summer, I finally couldn't stand it anymore and against my wife's wishes, decided I was going to buy a flats boat.  We had a family get-together at our house in Tavernier and while we were down there, decided to take a look at a Lake & Bay that was advertised for sale.  After looking it over, I decided it was too small (besides the idea of owning ANOTHER boat, my wife was against the idea of owning a boat that only sat 3 when there are 5 of us).  On the way back from looking at the Lake & Bay, I saw Islamorada Boat Center and decided to take a look at what they had on the lot.  Sitting there was a fully loaded Ranger 2200 Bay.  I said to myself "Self!  That's the boat for me."  I spoke to the salesman for a few minutes, was told the boat was a Ranger-owned demonstrator that had toured the circuit and would come with full warranties on the entire package.  I was further assured that anything I found wrong with the boat would be repaired.  We did a detailed inspection of the boat and I wrote a check on the spot for the package.  That was June 27.  I finally was able to take the boat home yesterday, January 18.  The last 7 months has been a fist-fight every step of the way to get the dealer and factory to live up to the terms of the sale.  They would fix one thing, ignore several others, refuse to fix then offer to fix labor only, say they repaired something and didn't.  It was the most un-professional transaction I have ever been a part of.  Even to the extent of the engine service that was supposed to have been done the very first time I left the boat with them was never done until yesterday despite the service department repeatedly assuring me the fluids had been changed.  So, with all of that having been said, I rate Islamorada Boat Center downright UGLY!  DO NOT BUY from them unless it's a deal you can't pass up and if you do, make certain you pay close attention.  They will jerk you around every chance they get.  They even went so far as to allow the "professional" fisherman who had been in charge of the boat to remove the chart card ($300.00 item) from the GPS after I had purchased the boat (this was told to me by the former service manager (she still works there, at least for the time being as I was told) when I asked what happened to my chart card. She lost her position because she let me know the dirty little secret, which in itself is total BS).  Obviously, this is a highly abridged version since I don't feel like typing for a half day and if you want all the details, I will happily provide you with them.  Stay clear of them unless you are a masochist.

Wow!

I'd certainly report them to the BBB and to every boat manufacturer they deal with. That's a terrible thing to have to go through.

Glad you finally got the boat though.

Just tell your wife those bastids are obviously pinko socialists preying on the bourgeoisie! :)